Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Lagenaria siceraria (synonym Lagenaria vulgaris Ser.), The bottle gourd, also known as opo squash, or long melon, is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. The fresh fruit has a light green smooth skin and a white flesh. Rounder varieties are called calabash gourds. They come in a variety of shapes: they can be huge and rounded, small and bottle shaped, or slim and serpentine, more than a metre long. Gourds are often called "calabashes", but this is incorrect; calabashes (Crescentia cujete) are the fruit of the tree, while gourds (Lagenaria) grow on vines. See Sally Price, "When is a calabash not a calabash" (New West Indian Guide 56:69-82, 1982).
The gourd was one of the first cultivated plants in the world, grown not primarily for food, but for use as a water container. The bottle gourd may have been carried from Africa to Asia, Europe and the Americas in the course of human migration,[1] or by seeds floating across the oceans inside the gourd. It has been proved to be in the New World prior to the arrival of Columbus.[2]
Origin and dispersal
It is a commonly cultivated plant in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, now believed by some to have spread or originated from wild populations in southern Africa. Stands of Lagenaria siceraria, which may be source plants, and not merely domesticated stands, were reported recently in Zimbabwe.[3] This apparent domestication source plant produces thinner-walled fruit that, when dried, would not endure the rigors of use on long journeys as a water container. Today's gourd may owe its tough, waterproof wall to selection pressures over its long history ofdomestication.[4]
Cultivation
Gourds were cultivated in Asia, Europe, and the Americas for thousands of years before Columbus' discovery of America. Historically, in Europe,[5] Walahfrid Strabo(808–849), abbot and poet from Reichenau, advisor to the Carolingian kings, discussed it in his Latin Hortulus as one of the 23 plants of an ideal garden.[6][7]
Recent research indicates some can have an African origin and at least two unrelated domestications: one 8–9 thousand years ago, based on the analysis of archeological samples found in Asia, a second, four thousand years ago, traced from archeological discoveries in Egypt.
The mystery of the bottlegourd – namely that this African or Eurasian species was being grown in America over 8,000 years ago[8] – came about from the difficulty in understanding how it came to be on the American continent. The bottle gourd was originally thought to have drifted across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to North and South America. But genetic research on archeological samples published by theNational Academy of Sciences in December 2005 suggested that it may have been domesticated earlier than food crops and livestock and, like dogs, was brought into the New World at the end of the ice age to the native Paleo-Indians. This study showed that gourds found in American archaeological finds appeared closer to Asian variants than to African ones.[9]
In February 2014, the original hypothesis was revived based on a more thorough genetic study. Researchers examined the entire genome, including the plasmidgenome and concluded that American specimens were most closely related to wild African variants and could have drifted over the ocean several or many times as long as 10,000 years ago.[10]
Nowadays bottle gourd is grown by direct sowing of seeds or transplanting 15 to 20 days old seedlings. It prefers well-drained, moist, rich soil. It requires plenty of moisture in the growing season and prefers a warm sunny position sheltered from the wind. If it is cultivated in a small place you can grow it in a pot, spread the vine on trellis or roof. In rural areas, many houses with thatched roofs are found covered with the gourd vines. Bottle gourds grow very rapidly and their stems can reach a length of 9 metres in the Summer. So they need a solid support to climb by the pole or trellis along the stem. If it is planted under a long tree the vine can grow up to the top of the tree. To get more fruits, sometimes farmers cut off the tip of the vine when it has grown 6–8 feet long. This will force the plant to produce side branches that will produce fruit much sooner and more flowers and more fruits. The plant produces white flowers. The male flowers have long peduncles and the females have short ones with an ovary of the shape of the fruit. Sometimes the female flowers drop off without growing into a gourd due to the failure of pollination if no bee activity is found in the garden area. To solve the problem, you can pollinate bottle gourd by hand. Hand Pollination When the flowers open, rub a soft brush first in the male flower and then in the female flower. Or rub softly the inside of both the flowers together. Experienced farmers can do this easily. Crops are ready for harvest within two months; yield ranges from 35–40 m tons/ha.
Occasional toxicity
Like other members of the Cucurbitaceae family, gourds contain cucurbitacins that are known to be cytotoxic at a high concentration. The tetracyclic triterpenoid cucurbitacins present in fruits and vegetables of the cucumber family, are responsible for the bitter taste, and could cause ulcers in the stomach. In extreme cases, people have died from drinking the juice of gourds.[11][12][13] The toxic cases are usually due to the gourd being used to make juice, which the drinkers attested to being unusually bitter.[14] And in the three lethal cases, the victims were all diabetics in their 50s and 60s.[14]
However, the plant is not normally toxic when eaten and is safe to consume. The excessively bitter (and toxic) gourds are due to improper storage (temperature swings or high temperature) and over-riping.[15]
To avoid poisoning, it is advised to:[14]
1. Taste a small piece of the gourd to make sure it is not unusually bitter, before making juice
2. Discard all excessively bitter gourd or juice
3. Do not mix the juice of gourds with other juices, such as that of bitter gourd, so as not to mask the taste if it has gone bad.
Culinary uses:
Calabash, cooked, no saltNutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)Energy63 kJ (15 kcal)Carbohydrates3.69 gDietary fiber1.2 gFat0.02 gProtein0.6 gVitaminsThiamine (B1)(3%)
0.029 mgRiboflavin (B2)(2%)
0.022 mgNiacin (B3)(3%)
0.39 mgPantothenic acid (B5)(3%)
0.144 mgVitamin B6(3%)
0.038 mgFolate (B9)(1%)
4 ?gVitamin C(10%)
8.5 mgTrace metalsCalcium(2%)
24 mgIron(2%)
0.25 mgMagnesium(3%)
11 mgManganese(3%)
0.066 mgPhosphorus(2%)
13 mgPotassium(4%)
170 mgSodium(0%)
2 mgZinc(7%)
0.7 mg
Link to USDA Database entry* Units
* ?g = micrograms • mg = milligrams
* IU = International units Percentages are roughly approximated usingUS recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database The calabash, as a vegetable, is frequently used in southern Chinese cuisine as either a stir-fry or in a soup. The Mandarin name for calabash is hulu(simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??; pinyin: húlu) or huzi(Chinese: ??; pinyin: húzi). Two common kinds of calabash sold in Chinese stores are the "Opo" kind, which is elongated but still plump, and "Mao Gua" which is very similar to Opo, but it has hairs, as its Chinese name references, which translates to "Hairy Squash". The hairs, although small, can get embedded in the skin, but it is usually safe for adults to handle.
In Japan, the species is known as hy?tan or ygao with the former word referring particularly to the larger-fruiting variety whose fruits are used mostly for making containers or other handicrafts, and the latter referring to the smaller-fruiting variety whose fruits are more edible. Names used to refer particularly to the fruit of one or another variety of this species include fukube and hisago. It is most commonly sold in the form of dried, marinated strips known as kanpy? and is commonly used as an ingredient for makingmakizushi (rolled sushi).
In Korea, it is known as bak (?) or jorongbak.
In Burma, it is known as boo thee, a popular fruit; young leaves are also boiled and eaten with spicy hot, fermented fish sauce called nga peet.
In the Philippines, it is known as upo. In Italian cuisine, it is known as cucuzza (plural cucuzze).
In Central America, the seeds of the bottle gourd are toasted and ground with other ingredients (including rice, cinnamon, and allspice) to make the drink horchata. (The calabash tree, Crescentia cujete, is known locally as morro or jícaro; that is another "calabash").
In Colombia and Venezuela, the calabash tree Crescentia cujete is known as a taparo or totumo (it is another "calabash" plant).
In Pakistan, the green Calabash is known as lauki while the yellow variety is known as kaddu in Urdu.
In Bangladesh, it is called laau or kaddu. In Nepali, it is called lauka. In Arabic, it is called qara.
In Aramaic, it is called kura. In the Talmudic period, the young fruits were boiled, whilst the mature fruits were eaten as desert. The tender young gourd is cooked as a summer squash. In Vietnam, it is called b?u canh or b?u n?m, and is used in a variety of dishes: boiled, stir-fried, soup dishes, and as a medicine.
The shoots, tendrils, and leaves of the plant may also be eaten as greens.
Cultural uses
India
Calabash is used in many string instruments in India as a resonator. Instruments that look like guitars are made of wood but they can have a calabash resonator at the end of the strings table called toomba. The sitar, the surbahar, the tanpura(south of India, tambura north of India), may have a toomba. In some cases, the toomba may not be functional, but, if the instrument is large, it keeps its place because of its balance function; that is the case of the Saraswati veena. Other instruments like Rudra Veena and vichitra veena have 2 large calabash resonators at both ends of the strings table. The Baul singers of Bengal have their musical instruments made out of calabash. The practice is also common among Buddhistand Jain sages.[16]
These toombas are made of dried calabash gourds, using special cultivars that were originally imported from Africa and Madagascar. They are mostly grown in Bengal and near Miraj, Maharashtra. These gourds are valuable items and they are carefully tended; for example, sometimes they are given injections to stop worms and insects from making holes while they are drying, etc.
Hindu ascetics (sadhu) traditionally use a dried gourd vessel called the kamandalu. The juice of bottle gourd is considered to have medicinal properties and to be very good for health.
In parts of India, the dried, unpunctured gourd is used as a float (called surai-kuduvai in Tamil) to learn swimming in rural areas.
The Caribbean
Calabash is primarily used for utensils, such as cups, bowls, and basins in rural areas. It can be used for carrying water or can be made for carrying items, such as fish, when fishing. In some Caribbean countries, it is worked, painted and decorated as shoulder bags or other items by artisans, and sold to tourists. In Jamaica, it is also a reference to the natural lifestyle ofRastafarians. As a cup, bowl, or even water-pipe or "bong", the calabash is considered consistent with the "Ital" or vital lifestyle of not using refined products such as table salt, or using modern cooking methods, such as microwaves. In Haiti, the plant is called kalbas kouran, literally, "running calabash", and is used to make the sacred rattle emblematic of the Vodou priesthood, called an asson. As such, the plant is highly respected. It is also the national tree of St. Lucia.
Africa
Hollowed out and dried calabashes are a very typical utensil in households across West Africa. They are used to clean rice, carry water, and as food containers. Smaller sizes are used as bowls to drink palm wine.
Calabashes are used in making the West African kora (a harp-lute), xalam/ngoni (a lute) and the goje (a traditional fiddle). They also serve as resonators underneath the balafon (West Africanmarimba). The calabash is also used in making the shegureh (a Sierra Leonean women's rattle)[21] and balangi (a Sierra Leonean type of balafon) musical instruments. Sometimes, large calabashes are simply hollowed, dried, and used as percussion instruments, especially by Fulani, Songhai, Gur-speaking andHausa peoples. In Nigeria, the calabash has been used to avoid a law requiring the wearing of a helmet on a motorcycle.[22] In South Africa, it is commonly used as a drinking vessel by tribes such as the Zulus. Erbore tribe children in Ethiopia wear hats made from the calabash to protect them from the sun. Recently, the Soccer City stadium which hosted the FIFA World Cup has been completed and its shape takes inspiration from the calabash.
Mexico
Note that "jícara" refers to the Crescentia cujete calabash
In many rural parts of Mexico, the calabash is dried and carved hollow to create a bule or a guaje, a gourd used to carry water around like a canteen. The gourd cut in half, called jícara, gave the parallel name to a clay cup jícara.
Costa Rica
Note that "guacal" in Costa Rica refers to Crescentia cujete tree calabash.
The Costa Rican town of Santa Bárbara de Santa Cruz holds a traditional annual dance of the calabashes (baile de los guacales). Since 2000, the activity has been considered of cultural interest to the community, and all participants receive a hand-painted calabash vessel to thank them for their economic contribution (which they paid in the form of an entrance ticket).[23]
Aboriginals throughout the country traditionally serve chicha in calabash vessels to the participants of special events such as the baile de los diablitos (dance of the little fiends).[24]
South America
In Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, calabash gourds are dried and carved into mates (Quichua word, adopted in Spanish language), the traditional container for the popular caffeinated, tea-like drink brewed from the yerba mate plant (the container called cuia, porongo or cabaça in Brazil). In the same region, it is called mate as is also the calabash from which the drinking vessels are made, and, in Peru, (where the practice of drinking mate is not adopted,) it is used in a popular practice for the making of mate burilado; "burilado" is the technique adopted for decorating the matecalabashes. In Brazil, gourds also commonly used as the resonator for the berimbau, the signature instrument of capoeira, a martial art/dance developed in Brazilian plantations by African slaves. The calabash gourd is possibly mankind's oldest instrument resonator.
In the region where Incas lived (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador), calabash gourds are known to have been used for medicinal purposes for over a thousand years by Andean cultures. The Inca culture applied folklore symbology to gourds to pass down from one generation to another, and this practice is still familiar and valued.
Bowls made of calabash were used by Indigenous Brazilians as utensils made to serve food, and the practice is still retained in some remote areas of Brazil (originally by populations of various ethnicities, origins and regions, but nowadays mainly the indigenes themselves).
Venezuela
Note that "totuma" refers to the vessel made of Crescentia cujete calabash.
Former president Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, suggested Venezuelans avoid showers longer than three minutes.[25][26]Critics of Chavez ridiculed this by reductio ad absurdum, ironically suggesting the use of a totuma to bathe (although Chavez himself did not suggest this).,[27][28] inferring that people has to bathe with "a totuma of water", the quantity of water that only one totuma can hold. It's a joke because it's exaggeratting the original words, because a totuma is a device that carries very little quantity of water, not enough for bathing (not even to get wet). This reaction is usual in all countries, compare U.S. President Jimmy Carter's speech urging Americans to conserve energy during the US 1979 energy crisis and negative reaction by his critics.[29]
China
The hulu is an ancient symbol for health.
In the old days, doctors would carry medicine inside it, so it has fabled properties for healing. The hulu is believed to absorb negative earth-based ki (energy) that would otherwise affect health, and is a traditional Chinese medicine cure. Dried calabash is also used as containers of liquids, often liquors or medicine. Calabash gourds were also grown in earthen molds to form different shapes with imprinted floral or arabesque design and dried to house pet crickets, which were kept for their song and fighting abilities. The texture of the gourd lends itself nicely to the sound of the animal, much like a musical instrument. It is a symbol of the Xian immortals.
Hulusi is a kind of flute.
Hawaii
In Hawaii, a calabash is a large serving bowl, usually made from a hardwood rather than from the calabash gourd as inMaroon cultures. It is used on a buffet table or in the middle of the dining table. The use of the calabash in Hawaii has led to terms like "calabash family" or "calabash cousins", indicating an extended family grown up around shared meals and close friendships.
This gourd is often dried when ripe and used as a percussion instrument called an ipu heke in contemporary and ancient hula.
Other uses
Additionally, the gourd can be dried and used to smoke pipe tobacco, usually constructed with a meerschaum lining holding the lit tobacco within the gourd. A typical design yielded by this squash is recognized (theatrically) as the pipe of Sherlock Holmes, but Doyle never mentioned Holmes using a calabash pipe. It was the preferred pipe for stage actors portraying Holmes, because they could balance this pipe better than other styles while delivering their lines. See, Smoking pipe (tobacco)‪#‎Calabash.
References
1. Jump up^ Erickson, David L.; Smith, Bruce D.; Clarke, Andrew C.; Sandweiss, Daniel H.; Tuross, Noreen. "An Asian origin for a 10,000-year-old domesticated plant in the Americas".PNAS 102 (51): 18315–18320 date = 20 December 2005.doi:10.1073/pnas.0509279102. PMC 1311910.PMID 16352716. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
2. Jump up^ "Cucurbitaceae--Fruits for Peons, Pilgrims, and Pharaohs". University of California at Los Angeles. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
3. Jump up^ Decker-Walters, D.S.; Wilkins-Ellert, M.; Chung, S.-M.; Staub, J.E. (2004). Discovery and genetic assessment of wild bottle gourd [ Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standley, Cucurbitaceae] from Zimbabwe. mbe.oxfordjournals.org – Economic Botany 58. pp. 501–508.
4. Jump up^ Decker-Walters, D.S.; Wilkins-Ellert, M.; Chung, S.-M.; Staub, J.E. (2005). Reconstructing the Origins and Dispersal of the Polynesian Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). Proceedings of the SMBE Tri-National Young Investigators' Workshop 2004. pp. 58, 501–508.
5. Jump up^ Gemüse des Jahres 2002: Der Flaschenkürbis (in German). Schandelah: VEN – Verein zur Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzen Vielfalt e.V. 2002.
6. Jump up^ Strabo, Walahfrid; Näf,W.; és Gabathuler,M. (ford.) (2000). De cultura hortorum (in Latin and German).ISBN 3-7995-3504-7.
7. Jump up^ Walahfrid Strabo (2002). De cultura hortorum sive Hortulus VII Cucurbita (in Latin). Fachhochschule Augsburg: bibliotheca Augustana.
8. Jump up^ White, Nancy (2005). Nancy White University of South Florida – South American Archaeology: Archaic, Preceramic, Sedentism. Bloomington: Indiana University Bloomington MATRIX project.
9. Jump up^ Erickson, David L.; Smith, Bruce D.; Clarke, Andrew C.; Sandweiss, Daniel H.; Tuross, Noreen (2005). An Asian origin for a 10,000-year-old domesticated plant in the Americas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
10. Jump up^ "Transoceanic drift and the domestication of African bottle gourds in the Americas", Kistler et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 10, 2014
11. Jump up^ Adhyaru-Majithia, Priya (13 March 2010). "Not all bitter veggies are good, they can kill you: Doctors". DNA(Bhaskar Group). Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
12. Jump up^ Chandra, Neetu (9 July 2010). "Toxin in lauki kills diabetic city scientist". India Today (Living Media). Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved9 July 2010.
13. Jump up^ "Bitter 'lauki' juice can kill you". Times of india (Living Media). 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
14. ^ Jump up to:a b c Indian Council of Medical Research Task Force, 2011, Gastrointestinal toxicity due to bitter bottle gourd
15. Jump up^ 2011, Evaluation of acute and subchronic toxicity of lagenaria , Indian Journal of Gastroenterology
16. Jump up^ Landsberg, Steven. "The History of an Indian Musical Instrument Maker".
17. Jump up^ India-instruments.de sitar
18. Jump up^http://www.ashokpathak.com/Ashok…/Ashok_Pathak_surbahar.html
19. ^ Jump up to:a b http://www.buckinghammusic.com/veena/veena.html
20. Jump up^ Daily Music. Tambura/tanpura.
21. Jump up^ image at Joseph Opala, "Origin of the Gullah", yale.edu.
22. Jump up^ "Nigeria bikers' vegetable helmets". BBC News. 6 January 2009.
23. Jump up^ "Baile del Guacal" [Dance of the Calabash]. La Nación(in Spanish). 1 July 2010.
24. Jump up^ Parrales, Freddy (29 January 2011). "Rey Curré se encendió con el baile de los diablitos" [Rey Curré was ignited with the dance of the little fiends]. La Nación (in Spanish).
25. Jump up^ "No more singing in the shower: Chavez urges Venezuelans to limit their wash to three minutes amid water shortages". Daily Mail (London). 22 October 2009.
26. Jump up^ Chavez y el comunismo on YouTube
27. Jump up^ La totuma endógena | Artículos Laureano Márquez. Laureanomarquez.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
28. Jump up^ Como hacer Totuma-Ducha comunista on YouTube
29. Jump up^ Energy policy - Jimmy Carter - domestic, foreign. Presidentprofiles.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
[sourc - retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabash on 1/22/2015]
In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (American Standard Version, ASV)[for more details, go to www.jw.org].
See pictures at, https://images.search.yahoo.com/…/search;_ylt=A0LEVia48cJUx…
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RELIGION AND THE BIBLE, GO TO,
1) http://iris89.conforums.com/
2) http://www.network54.com/Forum/403209/
3) http://religioustruths.lefora.com/
4) http://religioustruths.boardhost.com/
5) http://religioustruths.forumsland.com/
6) http://religioustruthsbyiris.createmybb3.com/
7) http://religioustruths.forumotion.com/
To enjoy an online Bible study called “Follow the Christ” go to, http://www.network54.com/Forum/403209/thread/1417398076/last-1417398076/Digital+Book+On+18+Part+Follow+Christ+Bible+Study…
Your Friend in Christ Iris89
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!

THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES:
Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Leycesteria formosa (Himalayan Honeysuckle, Flowering Nutmeg, Himalaya Nutmeg or Pheasant Berry) is a deciduous shrub in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Himalaya and southwestern China. It is considered a noxious invasive species in Australia, New Zealand, the neighboring islands of Macaronesia, and some other places.[1][2] It is not yet considered a noxious invasive species in Canada or the United States, but many plants with the common name "Honeysuckle" are.
The plant was named by Nathaniel Wallich, director of the Calcutta Botanic Garden after his friend William Leycester, a judge in the native court in Bengal[3]
It has soft, hollow, upright green stems 1–2 m tall, which only last for 2–5 years before collapsing and being replaced by new stems from the roots. The leaves are opposite, dark green, 6–18 cm long and 4–9 cm broad, with an entire or wavy margin. The flowers are produced on 5–10 cm long pendulous racemes; each flower is small, white, subtended by a purple bract. The fruit is a soft purple-black berry 1 cm diameter, eaten by birds which disperse the seeds.
L. formosa became a popular plant in Victorian shrubberies. Attempts have been made in recent years to repopularise the species in Britain with new cultivated varieties appearing in garden centres.
Leycesteria formosa fruit
References[edit]
1. Jump up^ Silva, L., E. Ojeda Land & J.L. Rodríguez Luengo (eds.) 2008. Invasive terrestrial flora and fauna of Macaronesia. Top 100 in Azores, Madeira and Canaries. ARENA, Ponta Delgada. 546 p
2. Jump up^ First record of the top invasive plant Leycesteria formosa (Caprifoliacea) in Terceira Island, Azores LUÍS SILVA, J. MARCELINO, R. RESENDES & J. MONI
3. Jump up^ Edwards's Botanical Register 2. 1839. p. xvi. Retrieved 23 December 2011. [SOURCE - RETRIEVED FROMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leycesteria_formosa ON 12/16/2013]
Physical Characteristics:
Leycesteria formosa is a deciduous Shrub growing to 2.5 m (8ft) by 2.5 m (8ft) at a medium rate. 
It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower from Jun to September, and the seeds ripen from Oct to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.It is noted for attracting wildlife.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.
Edible Parts: Fruit.
Edible Uses:
Fruit - one unconfirmed report said that the fruit is edible. In the better forms, the fully ripe and very soft fruit is very sweet with a treacle-like flavour, though in other forms it has a very bitter taste and is not very desirable[K]. [source - retrieved from http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx…on 12/16/2013]
In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (American Standard Version, ASV)[for more details, go to www.jw.org].
To view the fruit and the vine, go to, https://www.google.com/search…
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RELIGION AND THE BIBLE, GO TO,
1) http://iris89.conforums.com/
2) http://www.network54.com/Forum/403209/
3) http://religioustruths.lefora.com/
4) http://religioustruths.boardhost.com/
5) http://religioustruths.forumsland.com/
6) http://religioustruthsbyiris.createmybb3.com/
7) http://religioustruths.forumotion.com/
To enjoy an online Bible study called “Follow the Christ” go to, http://www.network54.com/Forum/403209/thread/1417398076/last-1417398076/Digital+Book+On+18+Part+Follow+Christ+Bible+Study
Your Friend in Christ Iris89
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
 

THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES:
Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, Limonia acidissima.
Scientific Classification Kingdom:

Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Sapindales
Family:
Rutaceae
Subfamily:
Aurantioideae
Tribe:
Citreae
Genus:
Limonia
L.
Species:
L. acidissima
Binomial name
Limonia acidissima
L.
Limonia acidissima (syn. Feronia elephantum, Feronia limonia, Hesperethusa crenulata,[1] Schinus limonia) is the only species within the monotypic genus Limonia. It is native in the Indomalaya ecozone to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and in Indochinese ecoregion east to Java and the Malesia ecoregion. Vernacular names in English include: wood-apple, elephant-apple, monkey fruit, and curd fruit; and listed below are the variety of common names in the languages of its native habitat regions.
The common names of Limonia acidissima include:
* English: Wood Apple, Elephant Apple, Monkey Fruit or Curd Fruit
* Bengali: Bael, Koth Bael (???, ?? ???)
* Gujarati: Kothu
* Hindi: Kaitha (????), Kath Bel or Kabeet
* Javanese: Kawis or Kawista
* Khmer: Kvet (?????)
* Kannada: Belada Hannu / Byalada Hannu balulada hannu 
* Malaysia : Belingai
* Malayalam: Vilam Kai 
* Marathi: KavaTH (???).
* Oriya: Kaitha or Kaintha
* Sanskrit: Billa, Kapittha),[2] Dadhistha, Surabhicchada, Kapipriya, Dadhi, Pu?papahala, Dantas?tha, Phalasugandhika, Cirap?k?, Karabhith?, Kan??, Gandhapatra, Gr?hiphala, Ka??y?mlaphala.[3]
* Sinhalese: Divul. 
* Tamil: Vilam Palam
Description
Tree in the Talakona forest, in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Limonia acidissima is a large tree growing to 9 metres (30 ft) tall, with rough, spiny bark. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-7 leaflets, each leaflet 25–35 mm long and 10–20 mm broad, with a citrus-scent when crushed. The fruit is a berry 5–9 cm diameter, and may be sweet or sour. It has a very hard rind which can be difficult to crack open, and contains sticky brown pulp and small white seeds. The fruit looks similar in appearance to fruit of Bael (Aegle marmelos).
Uses
The rind of the fruit is so thick and hard it can be carved and used as a utensil such as a bowl or ashtray. The bark also produces an edible gum. The tree has hard wood which can be used for woodworking.
Bael fruit pulp has a soap-like action that made it a household cleaner for hundreds of years. The sticky layer around the unripe seeds is household glue that also finds use in jewellery-making. The glue, mixed with lime, waterproofs wells and cements walls. The glue also protects oil paintings when added as a coat on the canvas.
Ground limonia bark is also used as a cosmetic called thanakha in Southeast Asia. The fruit rind yields oil that is popular as a fragrance for hair; it also produces a dye used to colour silks and calico.
In India the bael leafs, which are found in the set of three leafs usually, are used for worshiping lord Shiva. During Shivaratri, bael patra is an essential pooja item along with bhaang leafs, milk, dhatura flowers.
It is a hedge plant favored for its rapid growth; especially when cuttings from a faster growing individual are grafted to a hardily rooted plant, fruit, foliage and shade can quickly be obtained.
In Tamil Nadu leaves and fruit traditionally have been used for elephant food, while the branches were used as brooms for rough work in connection with animal care.
Culinary
The fruit is eaten plain, blended into an assortment of drinks and sweets, or well-preserved as jam. The scooped-out pulp from its fruits is eaten uncooked with or without sugar, or is combined with coconut milk and palm-sugar syrup and drunk as a beverage, or frozen as an ice cream. It is also used in chutneys and for making Fruit preserves jelly and jam. A drink, Bael-panna made by blending the fruit with water and spices, is drunk during summers.
Indonesians beat the pulp of the ripe fruit with palm sugar and eat the mixture at breakfast. The sugared pulp is a foundation of sherbet in the subcontinent. Jam, pickle, marmalade, syrup, jelly, squash and toffee are some of the foods of this multipurpose fruit. Young bael leaves are a salad green in Thailand.
Indians eat the pulp of the ripe fruit with sugar or jaggery. The ripe pulp is also used to make chutney. The raw pulp is varied with yoghurt and make into raita. The raw pulp is bitter in taste, while the ripe pulp would be having a smell and taste that's a mixture of sourness and sweet.
Nutrition
A hundred gm of fruit pulp contains 31 gm of carbohydrate and two gm of protein, which adds up to nearly 140 calories. The ripe fruit is rich in beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A; it also contains significant quantities of the B vitamins thiamine and riboflavin, and small amounts of Vitamin C
Genera taxonomy
A number of other species formerly included in the genus are now treated in the related genera Atalantia, Citropsis, Citrus, Glycosmis, Luvunga, Murraya, Microcitrus, Micromelum, Naringi, Pamburus, Pleiospermium, Severinia, Skimmia, Swinglea, and Triphasia.[4]
References
1. ^ Arguments for Limonia acidissima L. (Rutaceae) and against Its Rejection as a nomen ambiguum. Taxon. November 1978. JSTOR 1219924.
2. ^ Feronia elephantum on treknature
3. ^ S G Joshi, Medicinal Plants, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 2004, ISBN 81-204-1414-4, p.347
4. ^ John H. Wiersema (2005-02-22). "Species in GRIN for genus". Ars-grin.gov. Retrieved 2011-04-19. (source - retrieved fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limonia_%28plant%29 on 3/15/2013)
In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (American Standard Version, ASV)[for more details, go to www.jw.org].
To view clickable pictures of the fruit of this plant, go to,http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/forum/limonia-acidissima/
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Your Friend in Christ Iris89
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth. "Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
 

Hi Everyone:
 
Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Lilium amabile var. luteum, A member of the lily family having edible parts.
 
This lilly having edible parts is light yellow orange downward facing 3: flowers with black spots , on stems to 3 ½ ft. and is native to Korea.  It is hardy to at least USDA Zone 4.  The flower buds are cooked and eaten in Korea.  It germinates in 2 to 4 weeks.
 
An encyclopedia says, “Lilium amabile (Chinese:????) is a species of plant with flower, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Liliaceae. It is endemic to Korea.[1]
 
References
1. ^ The Genus Lilium. Lilium amabile Palibin 1901 (in English). Retrieved 7/17/2010.
 
Bibliography
* Chung, t. h. 1956. Korea Flora. Shinzisa, Seoul;
* Lee, t. b. 1979. Illustrated Flora of Korea. Hangmunsa, Seoul;
* Lee Woong-Bin. 1989. the systematic study on genus Lilium in Korea. Korea Univ. thesis; Lee, Young-No. 1996. Flora of Korea. Kyohaksa, Seoul;
* Lee, y. t. 1996. Standard Illustrations of Korean Plants. Academy Co., Seoul.  (source - retrieved from   http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?ref=SERP&br=ro&mkt=en-US&dl=en&lp=PT_EN&a=http%3a%2f%2fpt.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fLilium_amabile  on  3/8/2013)
 
In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (American Standard Version, ASV)[for more details, go to  www.jw.org].
 
Pictures of this and other lilies of this genus can be viewed at  http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Lilium+amabile+var.+luteum&qpvt=Lilium+amabile+var.+luteum&FORM=IGRE
 
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Your Friend in Christ Iris89
 
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth."Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!
 
 
 

Hi Everyone:
 
Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Longan, Dimocarpus longan, it is a tropical tree that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better known tropical members of the soapberry family. It is native to the Indomalaya ecozone defined by South Asia and Southeast Asia. Description
The Dimocarpus longan tree can grow up to 6 to 7 meters in height, and the plant is very sensitive to frost. Longan trees require sandy soil and temperatures that do not typically go below 4.5 degrees Celsius (40.1 degrees Fahrenheit). Longans and lychees bear fruit at around the same time of the year.
The longan (lóng y?n, lit. "dragon eye"), is so named because it resembles an eyeball when its fruit is shelled (the black seed shows through the translucent flesh like a pupil/iris). The seed is small, round and hard, and of an enamel-like, lacquered black. The fully ripened, freshly harvested shell is bark-like, thin, and firm, making the fruit easy to shell by squeezing the fruit out as if one is "cracking" a sunflower seed. When the shell has more moisture content and is more tender, the fruit becomes less convenient to shell. The tenderness of the shell varies due to either premature harvest, variety, weather conditions, or transport/storage conditions.
A relative of the longan fruit is Lansium domesticum, better known as the langsat fruit, found in and around South East Asia.
Culinary uses
The fruit is sweet, juicy and succulent in superior agricultural varieties and, apart from being eaten fresh, is also often used in East Asian soups, snacks, desserts, and sweet-and-sour foods, either fresh or dried, sometimes canned with syrup in supermarkets. The taste is different from lychees; while longan have a drier sweetness, lychees are often messily juicy with a more tropical, sour sweetness.
The seed and the shell are not consumed.
Dried longan, called guìyuán in Chinese, are often used in Chinese cuisine and Chinese sweet dessert soups. In Chinese food therapy and herbal medicine, it is believed to have an effect on relaxation. In contrast with the fresh fruit, which is juicy and white, the flesh of dried longans is dark brown to almost black. In Chinese medicine, the longan, much like the lychee, is thought to give internal "heat" Cultivation
Potassium chlorate has been found to cause the longan tree to blossom. However, this causes stress on the tree if it is used excessively, and eventually kills it. (source - retrieved from   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longan  on  1/19/2013) 
In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (American Standard Version, ASV)[for more details, go to  www.jw.org].
 
Closely allied to the glamorous lychee, in the family Sapindaceae, the longan, or lungan, also known as dragon's eye or eyeball, and as mamoncillo chino in Cuba, has been referred to as the "little brother of the lychee", or li-chihnu, "slave of the lychee". Botanically, it is placed in a separate genus, and is currently designated Dimocarpus longan Lour. (syns. Euphoria longan Steud.; E. longana Lam.; Nephelium longana Cambess.). According to the esteemed scholar, Prof. G. Weidman Groff, the longan is less important to the Chinese as an edible fruit, more widely used than the lychee in Oriental medicine.
Description
The longan tree is handsome, erect, to 30 or 40 ft (9-12 m) in height and to 45 ft (14 m) in width, with rough-barked trunk to 2 1/2 ft (76.2 cm) thick and long, spreading, slightly drooping, heavily foliaged branches. The evergreen, alternate, paripinnate leaves have 4 to 10 opposite leaflets, elliptic, ovate-oblong or lanceolate, blunt-tipped; 4 to 8 in (10-20 cm) long and 1 3/8 to 2 in (3.5-5 cm) wide; leathery, wavy, glossy-green on the upper surface, minutely hairy and grayish-green beneath. New growth is wine-colored and showy. The pale-yellow, 5- to 6-petalled, hairy-stalked flowers, larger than those of the lychee, are borne in upright terminal panicles, male and female mingled. The fruits, in drooping clusters, are globose, 1/2 to 1 in (1.25-2.5 cm) in diameter, with thin, brittle, yellow-brown to light reddish-brown rind, more or less rough (pebbled), the protuberances much less prominent than those of the lychee. The flesh (aril) is mucilaginous, whitish, translucent, somewhat musky, sweet, but not as sweet as that of the lychee and with less "bouquet". The seed is round, jet-black, shining, with a circular white spot at the base, giving it the aspect of an eye.  (source - retrieved from   http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/longan.html  on  1/19/2013)
I like certain varieties of this fruit a lot slightly cooled from being in a refrigerator for awhile, and eat them same as I do lychee.  Also, the City Of West Palm Beach, FL, uses some of the trees as trees to line a few streets and they are pretty.
How this tree and other plants absorb water from the ground.   Plants have developed an effective system to absorb, translocate, store, and utilize water.  Plants contain a vast network of conduits, which consists of xylem and phloem tissues.  These conducting tissues start in the roots and continue up through the trunks of trees, into the branches and then into every leaf.  Phloem tissue is made of living elongated cells that are connected to one another and responsible for translocating nutrients and sugars (carbohydrates), which are produced by leaves for energy and growth.  The xylem is also composed of elongated cells but once the cells are formed, they die.  The walls of the xylem cells still remain intact and serve as an excellent peipline to transport water from the roots to the leaves.
 
The main driving force of water uptake and transport into a plant is transpiration of water from leaves through specialized openings called stomata.  Heat from the sun causes the water to evaporate, setting this ‘water chain’ in motion.  The evaporation creates a negative water vapor pressure.  Water is pulled into the leaf to replace the water that has transpired from the leaf.  This pulling of water, or tension, occurs in the xylem of the leaf.  Since the xylem is a continuous water column that extends from the leaf to the roots, this negative water pressure extends into the roots and results in water uptake from the soil.  [adapted from: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=follow-up-how-do-trees-ca ]
 
Clearly this clever water transport system shows a superior intelligence of the Creator (YHWH).
 
 
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Your Friend in Christ Iris89
 
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth."Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today, and go to www.jw.org!